Spirituality, Dialogue, Conversion: The Itinerary of Fr Jean-Mohammed Abd-el-Jalil

Abstract

Jean-Mohammed Abd-el-Jalil united in himself on a very deep level two religions, Islam and Christianity, that in many ways are opposed to each other, especially on the doctrinal level. His conversion/life journey shows how he achieved this, at great cost to himself. Born in Morocco, in a family deeply committed to Islam, he himself eventually adopted a rather rigid, strict form called ‘Wahhabism’. A gifted student, he was given a government bursary to study in France with a view to taking up a responsible position in soon to be independent Morocco, but his life changed radically after a sudden conversion to Catholicism at Midnight Mass. Before he was ready for baptism he worked through some difficult doctrinal issues with a fellow convert, Paul Ali Mehmet Mulla-Zadé, who taught Islam in Rome. After his baptism Abd-el-Jalil entered the Franciscan Order in Paris where he remained for the rest of is life, apart from a brief crisis when he fled to Morocco, seemingly to return to Islam. He enjoyed a long academic career and wrote books to help Christians understand Islam. His final fifteen years were spent as a virtual hermit because of illness.